Air Plan Approval and Disapproval; Pennsylvania; Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) for Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) Under the 2008 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY <CFR>40 CFR Part 52</CFR> <DEPDOC>[EPA-R03-OAR-2019-0562; FRL-11960-01-R3]</DEPDOC> <SUBJECT>Air Plan Approval and Disapproval; Pennsylvania; Reasonably Available Control Technology (RACT) for Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) Under the 2008 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)</SUBJECT> <HD SOURCE="HED">AGENCY:</HD> Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). <HD SOURCE="HED">ACTION:</HD> Proposed rule. <SUM> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUMMARY:</HD> The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to revise its December 14, 2020 action that fully approved two state implementation plan (SIP) revisions, both submitted to EPA on August 13, 2018 by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, through the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP). Those SIP revisions addressed reasonably available control technology (RACT) requirements for the 2008 ozone national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS), including those related to control technique guidelines (CTGs) for volatile organic compounds (VOC) and the addition of regulations controlling VOC emissions from industrial cleaning solvents. The SIP revisions also included certain clarifying amendments to Pennsylvania code related to major source RACT regulations. Upon reconsideration, EPA is proposing to revise its prior action to partially approve and partially disapprove the August 13, 2018 submittals. Specifically, EPA is proposing approval of certain clarifying amendments as well as a negative declaration submitted by PADEP. EPA is proposing disapproval of the remainder of both SIP submittals related to CTGs and control of VOC emissions from industrial cleaning solvents. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA). </SUM> <EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">DATES:</HD> Written comments must be received on or before June 17, 2024. </EFFDATE> <HD SOURCE="HED">ADDRESSES:</HD> Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R03-OAR-2019-0562 at <E T="03">www.regulations.gov,</E> or via email to <E T="03">goold.megan@epa.gov.</E> For comments submitted at <E T="03">Regulations.gov,</E> follow the online instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from <E T="03">Regulations.gov.</E> For either manner of submission, EPA may publish any comment received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any information you consider to be confidential business information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. EPA will generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of the primary submission ( <E T="03">i.e.</E> on the web, cloud, or other file sharing system). For additional submission methods, please contact the person identified in the <E T="02">FOR FURTHER INFOMRATION CONTACT</E> section. For the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective comments, please visit <E T="03">www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.</E> <FURINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:</HD> Ellen Schmitt, Planning & Implementation Branch (3AD30), Air & Radiation Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1600 John F Kennedy Boulevard, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. The telephone number is (215) 814-5787. Ms. Schmitt can also be reached via electronic mail at <E T="03">schmitt.ellen@epa.gov.</E> </FURINF> <SUPLINF> <HD SOURCE="HED">SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:</HD> On August 13, 2018, PADEP submitted to EPA two SIP revisions to satisfy certain RACT requirements for sources of VOC emissions required by sections 182(b)(2) and 184(b)(l)(B) of the CAA and the implementing regulations for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS (80 FR 12264, March 6, 2015; 40 CFR part 51, subpart AA). Additionally, these two submittals are related to another PADEP SIP submission addressing RACT for major stationary sources of VOC and oxides of nitrogen (NO <E T="52">X</E> ) that was conditionally approved by EPA on May 9, 2019. See section II.B.2 of this proposed rulemaking. <HD SOURCE="HD1">I. Background</HD> <HD SOURCE="HD2">A. Ozone NAAQS and RACT Requirements</HD> On July 18, 1997 (62 FR 38856), EPA promulgated a revised standard for ground level ozone based on 8-hour average concentrations. The 8-hour averaging period replaced the previous 1-hour averaging period adopted in 1979, and the level of the NAAQS was changed from 0.12 parts per million (ppm) to 0.08 ppm. On March 27, 2008 (73 FR 16436), EPA further strengthened the 8-hour ozone standards from 0.08 ppm to 0.075 ppm (2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS). On October 26, 2015, (80 FR 65292) EPA adopted another revision to the ozone standard (2015 ozone NAAQS), but the 2008 ozone standard remains in place. This action concerns RACT requirements under the 2008 8-hour NAAQS. The CAA regulates emissions of NO <E T="52">X</E> and VOC to prevent photochemical reactions that result in ozone formation. Section 182(b)(2) of the CAA requires states with ozone nonattainment areas classified as moderate or higher to submit a SIP revision requiring implementation of RACT. EPA has consistently defined “RACT” as the lowest emission limit that a particular source is capable of meeting by the application of the control technology that is reasonably available considering technological and economic feasibility. The CAA requires RACT revisions for three specific categories of sources for the ozone NAAQS. First, section 182(b)(2)(A) requires RACT for each category of VOC sources in the nonattainment area covered by a CTG document issued by EPA between November 15, 1990 and the date of attainment. <SU>1</SU> <FTREF/> Second, section 182(b)(2)(B) requires RACT for all VOC sources in the area covered by any CTG issued before November 15, 1990. Third, section 182(b)(2)(C) requires RACT for all other major stationary sources of VOC located in the nonattainment area. In addition, section 182(f) subjects major stationary sources of NO <E T="52">X</E> to the same RACT requirements applicable to major stationary sources of VOC. <SU>2</SU> <FTREF/> EPA has not issued any CTGs for categories of NO <E T="52">X</E> sources, so the effect of section 182(f) is to require that SIPs also require RACT for major stationary sources of NO <E T="52">X</E> in accordance with section 182(b)(2)(C). The ozone RACT requirements under section 182(b)(2) are usually referred to as VOC CTG RACT, non-CTG VOC RACT, and major NO <E T="52">X</E> RACT. In addition, section 184(a) of the CAA established an Ozone Transport Region (OTR) comprised of 12 eastern states, including all of Pennsylvania. Pursuant to section 184(b), the RACT requirements of section 182(b)(2) which would be applicable if an area were classified as a moderate nonattainment area apply to all areas within the OTR. This requirement is referred to as OTR RACT. OTR RACT applies throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. <FTNT> <SU>1</SU>  EPA provides states with guidance concerning what types of controls could constitute RACT for a given source category through the issuance of CTG and alternative control technique (ACT) documents. </FTNT> <FTNT> <SU>2</SU>  A “major source” is defined based on the source's potential to emit NO <E T="52">X</E> or VOC, and the applicable ton per year emission thresholds defining a “major” source differ based on the classification of the nonattainment area in which the source is located. See sections 182(c)-(f) and 302 of the CAA. </FTNT> On March 6, 2015 (80 FR 12264), EPA published a final rule that outlined the obligations related to required SIP requirements for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. This rule, herein referred to as the “2008 ozone implementation rule,” contained, among other things, a description of EPA's expectations for states with RACT obligations. The 2008 ozone implementation rule indicated that states could meet RACT (1) through the establishment of new or more stringent requirements that meet RACT control levels, (2) a certification that previously adopted RACT controls in their SIP, under a prior ozone NAAQS, represent adequate RACT control levels for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS, or (3) with a combination of these two approaches. In addition, a state could submit a negative declaration in instances where, for a particular CTG, there are no sources within the state covered by that CTG. In EPA's 2008 ozone implementation rule, the Agency states that “states should refer to the existing CTGs and ACTs for purposes of meeting their RACT requirements, as well as all relevant information (including recent technical information and information received during the public comment period) that is available at the time that they are developing their RACT SIPs.” See 80 FR at 12279, March 6, 2015. <HD SOURCE="HD2">B. Challenge to Approval, Court Proceedings, Voluntary Remand, and Reconsideration</HD> On December 14, 2020 (85 FR 80616), EPA published a full approval of PADEP's two August 13, 2018 SIP submittals. The approval was challenged in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and on September 3, 2021, that court granted EPA's request for remand without vacatur of the Agency's final full approval. <SU>3</SU> <FTREF/> <FTNT> <SU>3</SU>  A copy of the court order is located in the docket for this action. Docket Id. EPA-R03-OAR-2019-0562 in <E T="03">regulations.gov.</E> </FTNT> A petitioner filed litigation in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on May 16, 2023, arguing EPA had unreasonably delayed in its reconsideration of the final approval of the August 13, 2018 SIP submittals. On December 15, 2023 ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Preview showing 10k of 36k characters. 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